Teachers

It is that time of year when we focus on being thankful. I try to practice gratitude every day and yet this time of year, I do find myself being very intentional about all there is to be grateful for. Over the last weeks, my thoughts have revolved around our teachers.

You know how it was impossible to really understand the daunting task of being a parent until you became one? Teaching is like that. You think you know what that would be like, but until you are a teacher, no one can know how incredibly challenging it is. It is both an incredibly rewarding experience and also completely humbling. Every day you evaluate whether you've met the social, emotional and academic needs of 25 plus students in your Crew. You're hard on yourself because you know that every day matters.

The educational world is changing. The world is calling for a transformation of the educational experience as we have known it. We need to prepare students for a different world. This means we have to create learning experiences unlike the ones we as learners experienced. While it is exciting to think about how we can do that, it is also incredibly hard to create something when you don't know what it should look like. We have changed the spaces, the outcomes, the tools, the resources, the instruction and certainly the expectations - but we haven't changed the structure of a teacher's day.

Often, the public only considers "teaching" as the time spent with students. Time  during the school day spent interacting, guiding, coaching, and facilitating the learning experiences. Really, that's only half of the job.

The other half of the job is designing the time you will be with students. Each day, a teacher must have detailed plans for the instruction they will give children, both as a whole group and in small groups, across several content areas. In order to create inquiry lessons, teachers must spend hours considering the learning progression, crafting a learning experience whereby students will notice, wonder and discover essential understandings, providing feedback....(you get the picture) and yet, when are they supposed to get all this planned? Gone are the days of 'teacher manuals' - teachers are now designers of instruction and curriculum.

That means, a teacher is interacting with students during their work day - and all the hours and hours of research, planning, and assessing happen outside of their work day. But what about time for professional development? It is critical for teachers to continue to grow their expertise as educators - to learn new instructional strategies, new tools for learning, and to collaborate with other professionals. As a principal, I support and applaud teachers as they often take personal time to attend conferences and seminars, which makes them better teachers.

I don't know how we solve this dilemma, but I do know that if our country wants the educational reform we are seeking for students in schools - to prepare them for the 21st Century - we must consider with those changes, how we ask teachers to work. Teachers need time to do the work when they are not with students.

It is important to take something that is easy to take for granted - teaching - and look deeper. To pause to be thankful for our teachers and the work they do. I want to shout out a resounding 'bravo' to our teachers for their incredible commitment.  I am so full of gratitude for the work they do every day. I am so thankful for how our teachers honor and respect our children; care so deeply; challenge them; coach and guide them; and the personal sacrifices they each make to be prepared to teach them every single day.

So this Thanksgiving, join me in thanking these dedicated professionals - the teachers at Renaissance.

Ms. Deborah

Outdoor Learning Environment

Our Outdoor Learning Environment:

Connecting Children to Nature

How do you think about playgrounds for children?

Do you see them as places to blow-off steam, giving children a break? The out-of-doors offers a larger world for children. It can provide places for freedom, exploring, and solace. Being in a natural outdoor environment helps children thrive not only physically, but socially, emotionally, intellectually and spiritually. 

In his important book, Last Child in the Woods, author Richard Louv reminds us that unlike television and computers, nature does not steal time. It amplifies it. It offers new possibilities. 

When Renaissance opened eight years ago we embarked on a transformation of traditional playground thinking. We want to create an outdoor learning environment as thoughtfully constructed as our indoor learning environment. We are not targeting industrialized play contraptions. We are talking about creating simple, natural areas with trees, and paths. We want places for our kids to climb, dig, run and explore. 

Our progress has been slow, as it hasn't been easy to convince risk management to embrace our philosophy and move away from conventional play structures and spaces. Through the hard work of our Outdoor Learning Environment (OLE) committee and parent volunteers, each year we move forward toward our vision. Funds from our recent fundraiser will allow the OLE committee to continue enhancing our outdoor space. 

Spaces for solitude and reflection -

We want outdoor time to be seen as more than "recess," and  instead be viewed as an invaluable part of each day's learning.

Our philosophy has been to create an outdoor space where children can:

* Connect with nature

* Care for plants and creatures

* Landscaping that promotes adventure and drama

* Places for children to feel powerful and competent

* Design cozy spaces and gathering places

* Enhance play with activities

* Defines spaces for people and things

Big and small areas

An open area for large-motor activities

Rich learning takes place in natural outdoor spaces and significantly aids children's health and development.

A building area

Finding the joys of water, dirt and sand.

A music and movement area

Can children do the work of a scientist, an ecologist or archeologist?

 Places that engage a sense of wonder, provoke curiosity and a desire to investigate.

The Ga-Ga Ball Pit

Can they conquer fears, take risks, and develop courage?

A gathering area

Encouraging children to master new challenges, develop increasingly complex skills, and closely observe and appreciate the natural world will give children gifts that will last for a lifetime.

The outdoors is not just for big energy, but also for relaxing, letting nature by your nest.

Well designed outdoor learning environments reduce stress, sharpen concentration and promote creative problem solving. We can nurture children's enthusiasm for the outdoors and their commitment to protecting nature for generations to come.

Warmly,

Ms. Deborah